George William Cowell

George William Cowell

George William Cowell (1898–1918) held the rank of Gunner (156664) in the 153rd Brigade of the Royal Garrison Artillery (No. L/25210). He was killed in action on the Western Front in France on 24 September 1918. He has his own War Graves Commission grave in the Neuville-Bourjonval British Cemetery in northern France. Thus while his death is commemorated on his family grave, his body is not buried here. He is also commemorated on the Cambridge Guildhall War Memorial.

George was born in 1898 in Cambridge. He was one of the four children of Harry Cowell and Martha Ann Cowell (née Bycroft) and younger brother to Harry Reuben Cowell. He worked in the Locomotive Department for the Great Eastern Railway before the war. George became Gunner (156664) in the 153rd Brigade of the Royal Garrison Artillery (No. L/25210). He was on the Western Front in France on 24 September 1918 and sleeping in a dug-out when a shell hit it demolishing it and killing him. His comrades recovered his body and he was buried in a cemetery behind the lines. At the time of his death his parents were living at 39 Argyle Street (in Romsey Town), Cambridge. Both the chaplain, who conducted George’s burial service and his officer wrote to them. George was entitled to the Victory medal and the British War medal.